Mandeep Clair

Do we need to bother with a solicitor?

If your marriage has broken down and you have both agreed on divorce and how to sort out the finances – you may be asking yourselves – do we need to bother with a solicitor?

Here is my answer. It is understandable why some people want to finalise a divorce and resolve financial issues between them quickly and without lawyers.

You didn’t plan to divorce when you married so, why when you have come to the conclusion that your marriage is over, prolong your predicament and not get the divorce finalised without further aggravation and lawyers being involved?

Here is why. The terms of your financial settlement may have far reaching ramifications which could affect the rest of your life.

There may be all kinds of highly relevant issues which you may not have appreciated and on which a solicitor can advise. They could be highly relevant to your claims. Furthermore, in your desire to achieve a quick and as painless a resolution as possible to your marital issues, you may feel pressurised into agreeing matters without full knowledge of the facts. Do you know exactly what assets your spouse owns, how much is in their bank account or indeed which bank accounts they have? Don’t be fooled into thinking that you automatically have no claim to assets in your spouse’s sole name.

A good solicitor can provide you with a tailor made, face to face, sympathetic and cost effective service which suits your own particular needs and circumstances. There are various online organisations promising fast and cheap online divorce solutions. But the low fixed fees which they offer are likely to mean that the advice and service received is not of a good quality which could mean that important and complicated issues are overlooked. The initial advertised fixed fee may not be the final fee, and you should beware of the small print and extras being added to the final bill.

An online company may simply not deal with a case if it becomes contested, leaving you to instruct a solicitor to pick up the pieces which might end up costing you more than if you had used a solicitor from the outset.

Instructing a solicitor is not necessarily expensive and you can ask your solicitor to stop work once you reach a specified fixed fee. You might want to obtain just some initial advice on a fixed fee basis and some solicitors offer this.

A good solicitor will provide you with a high quality service, keep you properly updated on the level of your legal fees as they accrue and provide you with regular estimates for future legal fees, all of which will enable you to budget for costs and avoid any unpleasant surprises.

A good solicitor will also encourage you to undertake straightforward tasks in your case yourself rather than making a charge for doing this, will inform you of any developments in your case in a timely manner, will try to ensure that your costs remain proportionate to the value of your claim, and can provide you with imaginative solutions which cater for your particular needs and priorities.

Spring Newsletter writtten by Mandeep 

View grant family spring 2017.pdf

 Family Life Family law expert Mandeep Clair on the need to be open and honest during divorce court proceedings